According to him, cooperation among carriers is the only way to make air transport seamless and cost effective.

He said if airlines cooperate, the plan by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to facilitate interine agreement would not only reduce costs for airlines, but also make air travel less cumbersome.

Bankole said it was time Nigerian carriers embraced global practices.

He said the rationale for interline pact may not be unconnected with lack of cooperation and other operational factors that led to the collapse of over 10 airlines in the country.

The implementation of interline agreement, he said would give airlines the leverage to tap from the benefits of economies of scale, which in turn would reduce cost for the operators.

He cited a situation where Medview Airlines had some operational challenges with one of its aircraft, and had to transfer its passengers to another airline under an arrangement between the two carriers.

Bankole said: ”If the cooperation and understanding did not exist between Medview Airlines and Aero Airlines, how would we have handled such passengers, who have already paid for the flight. With such arrangement, as tidy as it was, the passengers will always come back to fly with us. Our counsel is that more airlines should come together and forge cooperation, which is good for the survival of the business.”

Last year, plans by the NCAA to effect interline agreement among active domestic operators, such that passengers could use one ticket to board any flight within the country suffered some challenges as the terms and conditions attached to the pack provoked a fresh row among carriers over which organisations hold the ace as the clearing house for all transactions.

NCAA Director-General, Dr Harold Demuren, who confirmed readiness of the authority to effect the new operational regime said domestic carriers and other parties are meeting on how to achieve seamless operations.

According to industry sources, though some operators have expressed their readiness to imbibe the new business model, some carriers are worried that if clearance matters are not properly sorted out, some of the airlines may back out of the new arrangement.